It’s a dog-eat-dog customer service world. Which means companies that deliver the best service wins, and the ones that don’t die. Do you want to be a survivor? Then figure out the service your customers want and then deliver it!

If you own a small business, you know that marketing is important. But you also know that marketing in your world is very different from that in the corporate sector. You have more limited budgets. Your timeframe from idea to launch is much shorter. And your need for marketing ROI is exquisitely higher than it is in big companies.

How do you grow a positive reputation on the Internet? Hire a so-called “Online Reputation Management” (ORM) firm or grow your reputation organically by becoming a truly great company? A surprising number of companies opt for the former approach because it’s perceived to be a quicker fix. That’s an understandable, but shortsighted, view. Here’s why.

Many business professionals savor their independence. That’s why corporate employees often go independent as their skill, knowledge, and client list grow. But even as a free agent—a lone cowboy or cowgirl—how independent are you really? Are you subject to the influences of other entities in your professional life? Do you let those influences affect your decisions—and your ethics? Do you let them call all the shots? And most important, can you truly be an independent and unbiased professional when industry “ranchers” with huge stakes in your success brand your hide, but have little ownership of your mistakes?